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Best Lifetime Achievement In Radio

John Ulett

Dear John:

It's hard to believe we've been together for 25 years. Most DJs are lucky if their careers last that long, but somehow you've managed to remain not just employed but employed by the same station for the whole run. Sure, there was that brief suspension when your foray into political satire bombed (no pun intended), but that's just a spicy footnote to an otherwise distinguished career. You probably laugh about that now, because you've always been able to laugh at yourself. Remember "E. Jack Ulette?" Like most St. Louisans, you don't take yourself too seriously. That's why you're so good at what you do: Pick a record, play a record, talk about the record. But as the big corporations buy up radio stations and shuffle DJs faster than they shuffle formats (wait for it), each new DJ tries so hard to create a persona or a lifestyle or cult of personality that listeners can identify with that radio now sounds as if it's staffed by used-car hucksters. They could all take a lesson from you. You've made a career of being yourself. Congratulations, and thanks for 25 years of rock. John Ulett, you are today's "Lone Classic."